Government has been criticised for providing scant details about a proposed $3.8 million land-for-homes deal in Southside.

The Opposition expressed mystification as to why Government deemed it appropriate to sum up the deal in less than 50 words in Parliament, yet another contract proposal for diaper changing rooms and restrooms at Bermuda International Airport stretched to a comprehensive 38-pages.

It is intended 2.52 acres of land will be signed over to Trinity Construction on the understanding the company builds 54 affordable homes to be sold at set prices of $450,000 for a two-bedroom unit and $525,000 for three-bedrooms.

The exchange of land is subject to a 120-year lease.

But taxpayers have a right to know what the multi-million dollar deal entails and whether it is the best deal that could have been struck for the parcel of land at Southside, argued United Bermuda Party MPs as they took Government to task for giving such minimal information in Parliament.

“Where is the detail? Where is the contract? We have only five lines,” said former UBP leader Grant Gibbons.

“We are talking about an important piece of tax-payers land. We know the difficulty this Government has got into in the past with contracts. Without seeing the contract we do not know if Government has got a good deal.

“We have a 38-page contract here for restrooms, diaper changing rooms and janitor room upgrades at the airport but we only get five lines on this.”

He went on: “If we do not have a contract then we are in trouble and if we do have a contract and it has not been tabled then what are they trying to hide? We want to know if this is the best deal. Was it the only bid? How long will it take to build the units? Is there a guaranteed profit and Government is afraid to show us how generous it is being?”

Works and Engineering Minister Dennis Lister brought the resolution to the House of Assembly to approve the consideration of the sale of leasehold interest in the land and thereby allow a small neighbourhood of 54 condominium-style homes to be built next to the New Testament Church of God at Southside, St. David’s. He said it was part of Government’s 2005 pledge to create 330 housing units with 30 months, a pledge that now has 284 homes under contract, he told Parliamentarians.

The Opposition benches took him to task on the number of homes that have actually been built, and when it was agreed that 24 would be occupied by the end of the year, some being at Anchorage Village in St. George’s and others at Butterfield Lane in Somerset, UBP Leader Wayne Furbert shouted out: “That’s eight percent.”

Explaining the land deal, Mr. Lister said it would entail the delivery of a minimum of 54 condo homes for affordable housing that would be sold at a fixed price.

“This will increase the home ownership options for Bermudians. This is part of the package for providing homes for Bermudians,” he added.

And his PLP colleague Michael Scott gave support to the deal saying from his experience a deal that earns almost $4 million from a long lease of 2.52 acres in Bermuda sat well with the average price of $1m for an acre of land in Bermuda.

“The price here is a good one and it is down to the ‘three Ps’ that’s Public Private Partnership. We have selected partners who can provide the muscle to deliver the housing,” he said.

Earlier in the debate UBP Shadow Works and Engineering Minister Jon Brunson raised the point that the so-called poor and near-poor have annual household incomes of less than $36,000 and $45,000 a year and the average Bermudian household income was only $71,000. These figures were taken from the 2000 census, he said. “What is it going to take someone to afford a 30-year mortgage at 7.75 percent interest to pay for a $450,000 home? It would be $3,900 a month. For the average Bermudian to afford that and survive they would need to earn at least $90,000,” he said.

Mr. Brunson applauded Government for pledging to build 96 units at Loughlands and the 54 at Southside but added: “That’s 150 homes that will not be available to those that need them most. They will be for sale not for rent.”

PLP backbencher Michael Scott said the homes were not intended for those on poor, near-poor and average annual incomes, but the buyers would move out of their old homes and thereby free up housing for others.

A suggestion by UBP St. David’s MP Suzanne Roberts-Holshouser that the homes be offered firstly to St. David’s people was rebuked by Dennis Lister who was critical of any attempt to show favouritism to one section of the community.

He said: “All those people who need housing will have the opportunity to participate in the process.”

Shadow Finance Minister Pat Gordon Pamplin questioned why the land for the development had been signed over to Trinity, which she estimated could make a profit of between $9 million and $11 million from the deal.

She asked why Government had not contracted the firm to build the homes for a set amount per square foot - therefore allowing the profits from their sale to go toward more new homes.